Huayu: Starting with Hijacking from "The Story of a Noble Family"

Five days later, on April 7th, Xu Heng returned to Qiangshi Film Industry, this time to formally sign the contract.

Normally, for important roles like the male lead, the production team is reluctant to sign a contract directly with the actor, especially since Xu Heng is a newcomer who has never acted in a film or television series before, in order to prevent any unexpected situations.

However, Xu Heng was a student at the Beijing Film Academy and had access to the system, so the production team did not make things difficult for him in this regard.

The pay is 8000 per episode, and for a total of 40 episodes, that's 32.

After all, he's the male lead, so even if he's a newcomer, his salary can't be too low.

Of course, this is before tax. The tax payable is close to 10, which is about one-third of the total.

According to industry practice, the payment is made in three installments: one-third is paid immediately after signing the contract, another third is paid when the actor officially joins the crew, and the final third is paid when filming is completed.

So after signing the contract, Xu Heng quickly found more than 7 yuan in his bank account, and the taxes due had already been deducted.

Then he sent Wang Jinghua a text message asking her to send him her bank card number so he could pay back the previous 20,000 yuan.

He called his parents again and told them that he had taken a role in a movie and that the salary was 32 yuan, of which he would receive 22 yuan. His parents were so shocked that they almost thought he had been scammed!

After hanging up with his parents, Xu Heng also received a text message from Wang Jinghua.

However, instead of a bank card number, it was a question: "Have you signed a contract?"

"It's already signed."

Xu Heng replied with a text message.

"The male lead?"

Wang Jinghua asked again, clearly indicating that her information was not as readily available this time.

"Yes."

Xu Heng sent another text message.

This time, it took Xu Heng quite a while before he received another text message from Wang Jinghua.

"Congratulations!"

There was also a string of bank card numbers at the end.

Wang Jinghua really wanted to use the 20,000 yuan as a favor, but she knew that Xu Heng didn't need that much money at all.

Xu Heng replied with "thank you" again and then went to the bank to transfer money to Wang Jinghua.

After receiving the transfer, Wang Jinghua sent him another text message, saying that she would keep in touch.

Meanwhile, Wang Jinghua, on the other side, was still looking at the text message on her phone, and she still couldn't quite believe it was true!

That little guy actually landed the lead role in a big-budget production with an investment of 2000 million yuan all by himself!

Back at school, Xu Heng maintained a low profile, but he soon found it impossible to stay so.

The next day, April 8th, Xu Heng gave a phone interview to Sina Entertainment in his dormitory. After the interview, his three roommates all looked at him as if he were a monster.

Furthermore, Sina Entertainment would soon issue an official report, so there was no need to hide the news any longer, and soon the whole class and even the whole school knew about it.

Xu Heng treated his three roommates to a good meal again.

Upon learning that Xu Heng had already received his first payment, the three roommates didn't hold back at all this time.

Another day later, on April 9th, Sina Entertainment officially reported: "The production team of 'The Story of a Noble Family' officially signed a contract with the male lead two days ago. The male lead they chose this time is a complete newcomer who has never acted in a single drama before, and he was selected through an open audition!"

Director Li Dawei also said in a telephone interview that Xu Heng is full of aristocratic air and rebellious spirit, and is the most suitable actor for the role of Jin Yanxi among all the actors. He was also the first main actor to be confirmed!

Xu Heng's name spread throughout the entertainment industry and gained him a certain degree of fame outside of it!

Upon seeing the report, Xu Heng's parents were finally completely relieved!

However, Xu Heng's life did not change much as a result; on the contrary, he became even more low-key than before.

There are still many actors who have not been officially confirmed. Judging from the situation, there is still at least a month before filming officially begins, but he has a lot to do.

He has only been confirmed to play the male lead, which does not mean that he will definitely be able to play the role well, even if he has the same acting skills as the male lead in his previous life.

So next, he needs to carefully study the script and research the various etiquette, gait, and speaking styles of young masters from prominent families during the Republic of China era.

Otherwise, if he really messes up the performance, even if it doesn't affect his future resources, he will definitely lose face and it will also affect his reputation, which will be very detrimental to his future work!

Before filming officially started, he had to try on various costumes, finalize the look, and take costume photos, which made him very busy!

And so, a full month and a half passed. On May 26th, Sina Entertainment released news that Dong Jie had officially signed on to play the female lead, Leng Qingqiu, in "The Story of a Noble Family"!

With this, the main cast of "The Story of a Noble Family" has finally been fully confirmed!

In addition to Xu Heng, other students from Beijing Film Academy who haven't graduated include Pan Xingyi, a third-year student, who plays the third concubine, and Zhan Hewen, a third-year student in a vocational college, who plays Wanxiang, a courtesan.

Of all the students in Xu Heng's class who participated in the audition, all but Xu Heng failed.

However, the fact that a male lead was produced was enough to excite the homeroom teacher, Huo Xuan!

Another day later, on the afternoon of May 27, 2002, the production team of "The Story of a Noble Family" held a press conference in Beijing before the start of filming. Director Li Dawei and main actors Xu Heng, Dong Jie, and Kou Zhenhai attended the conference, which was also attended by many reporters.

The reporters were naturally most interested in Xu Heng, who played the male lead in his first acting role. When it was time for the interview, they immediately surrounded Xu Heng!

At the same time, looking at Xu Heng dressed in the attire of a playboy from the Republican era, these reporters had to admit that Xu Heng's appearance was absolutely impeccable and indeed perfectly matched the image of a playboy from the Republican era!

"Xu Heng, may I ask how you managed to beat Lu Yi and Chen Kun to win the male lead role?"

"I just did a normal audition. The decision of who gets the role is made by the producer, director, and screenwriter!"

"So you mean you defeated Lu Yi and Chen Kun head-on, without using any other methods, right?"

"What other tricks do you think I, a newcomer without even a management company, could possibly have?"

Do you think you can play the male lead well?

"Of course, no problem!"

"So, do you think your acting skills are better than Lu Yi's and Chen Kun's?"

"I haven't seen Lu Yi and Chen Kun's audition videos, so I can't answer that question!"

"Haven't you seen their plays?"

"I've seen them, but different plays have different performance styles, so they can't be compared directly!"

"..."

"..."

Today's journalists are nothing like those of the future; they don't even need to communicate with the celebrity's team in advance about the questions they ask.

And they'll do whatever's most tricky, acting like they're going to cause trouble and what can you do about it!

But Xu Heng's main selling point is sincerity.

Try not to offend anyone, but don't be afraid to offend anyone either.

Dong Jie's situation was similar not far away, except there weren't as many reporters there.

About two hours later, the press conference ended, and the crew took a bus to Tianjin.

The TV series "The Story of a Noble Family" will officially begin filming tomorrow, with the main filming location not in Beijing, but in Tianjin.